Under Art. 28 of the Act on the Protection of Personal Information, the transfer of personal data to a third party in a foreign jurisdiction generally requires the explicit consent of the data subject. This requirement does not apply, however, in certain cases. One such case is where the recipient is located in a country or region designated by the Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC) as having a data protection regime that provides a level of protection equivalent to that of Japan, particularly in relation to individual rights and interests. At present, only member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom have received such designation. Another exception applies where the recipient has implemented a data protection framework that meets the standards prescribed by the PPC. Certification under the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) System, held either by the data sender or the recipient, may serve as evidence of such compliance.

Japan has joined agreements with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders. These include: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, Art. 14.11), the Agreement Between The United States Of America And Japan Concerning Digital Trade (Art. 11), the Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Japan for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership (Art 8.84), and the Agreement between the European Union and Japan for an Economic Partnership (Art. 8.81).

Japan is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Act on the Protection of Personal Information provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Japan.

Japan has a copyright regime under the Copyright Act. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Arts. 30-50 list the exceptions, which include which include quoting and thereby exploiting a work that has been made public. In such a case, the work must be cited consistent with fair practices and within a scope that is justified for the purpose of news reporting, critique, study, or another place in which the work is quoted; to broadcast or cablecast a work that has been made public, in broadcast or cablecast programming for schools that conforms to the curriculum standards provided for in laws and regulations on school education; among others.

Japan has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Japan has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Unfair Competition Prevention Law (Law No. 47 of 1993) provides a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. A ‘trade secret’ is defined in the law as a production method, sales method, or any other technical or operational information useful for business activities that are kept secret and are not publicly known (Art. 2). According to Art. 3 of the law, those businesses or persons whose business interests have been, or are threatened to be, infringed on by misappropriation or illegal disclosure shall have the right to seek an injunction. The Unfair Competition Prevention Act provides civil and criminal remedies in such cases where secret information about the company is stolen or disclosed illegally. To protect information according to the Act, companies need to manage such data as “trade secrets”.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Japan to deliver telecom services to end users.

Japan is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 and its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

The Japanese government maintains policies to encourage the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in government procurement. According to Arts. 4 and 5 of Act No. 97, the central government and public corporations are required to set their own procurement target values for the procurement from SMEs on an annual basis. It has been reported that in 2021, the target amount for the procurement from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by the Government was set at JPY 4.8 trillion (approx. USD 31 billion), which represents 61% of the total budget for public procurement spending. Furthermore, the target amount for new MSMEs that are less than 10 years old was set at 3%. In accordance with Art. 8, sub-central government entities follow the policies set up for the central government entities on an "endeavour basis".

It is reported that foreign firms in several sectors have expressed concern that the Japanese Government at times employs technical specifications that may exclude foreign products and services and, in certain cases, may also exert pressure on relevant entities to favour domestic companies in procurement processes.

Japan is a party to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA). Although its commitments include a service sector regarded as central to digital trade, namely computer and related services (CPC 84), they do not extend to telecommunication‑related services (CPC 754), while telecommunication services (CPC 752) are only partly included.